Graduated to an "Active" Wire

[ashahid]

I'm exactly 2 weeks post braced, and I went in for what I thought would be the 2 week "10 minute" check-up.

Hmmm.......

My orhto told me that they were going to do the first adjustement today as my teeth have really loosened up quite nicely. Totally wasn't prepared. Then he told me that the wire I was using (I once referred to it as the baby wire in an earlier post) would now be replaced with the active wire. This thing is MUCH thicker and much less flexible than the other wire, and as soon as they put it on my teeth and started placing the ligs, I knew I was in for a rough few days.

Wowzer- my teeth are sore! So sore that I am certian they might fall out soon.

Anyway, I suppose I'm happy that I'm making good progress so far. And two good things did come out of the early adjustment 1) I changed the color of my ligs (I figure if I have to look like a 16 year old, I might as well have fun with it) and 2) my food no longer makes my wire pop out of the back brackets. The inactive wire was so flexible, that hard food made it pop right out!

Here's to progression, and may my future wires not be so painful!

Can't imagine how thick this darned things can actually get!

[Flora2006]

What exactly does "active" and "inactive" wires mean? I've heard that many times but I don't really understand what that is




ashahid - Sounds like you had an eventful unplanned adjusment

It's good to hear that your teeth are making good progress in such little time. I bet you will start seeing a lot of movement with that new wire!

I hope that new wire won't cause you too much soreness.

Best wishes for the rest of your treatment

[mandaluv]

yeah, i realize from reading people's posts how much i don't know about orthodontics. i guess i just really don't understand how it works.. i had no idea that some wires were considered active and inactive. so does the inactive just apply mild pressure on teeth and move them a tiny bit in order for the active wire to take over and do the real work? orthodontists, so i've seen, tend to not really explain what's happening and how it is working. as for me, when i go in for my first adjustment, i am going to make sure to ask a load of questions. so many that they are gonna be happy when i leave!

[ingyandbert]

My understanding is that the first few wires exert only mild pressure on the teeth. They're pretty thin and are round. The round wires are fitted into the square bracket opening, which means the pressure is not that great because there is space between the wire and the interior bracket wall. Eventually, you move up to a thicker wire that is square and fits tightly into the square bracket opening, which means the pressure is much greater on the teeth. I take it this is what is meant by active and inactive wires.